UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  Agricultural  Experiment  Station 

College  of  Agriculture  e.  w.  hilgard,  director 

BERKELEY,  CALIFORNIA 

V    oF  THE 

INIVERSITY 

OF 
CALIFOi 


CIRCULAR. 


THE  NEW  FERTILIZER  LAW. 


At  its  last  session,  the  State  Legislature  passed  an  Act,  given  below, 
concerning  commercial  fertilizers,  to  take  effect  the  first  day  of  July  of 
this  year. 

The  object  of  this  law  is  to  provide  the  purchaser  of  commercial  fer- 
tilizers with  all  the  information  concerning  the  various  brands  which 
may  be  presented  to  him,  that  may  be  necessary  to  enable  him  to  make 
an  intelligent  selection  of  the  material  desired. 

To  this  end  the  law  requires  that  every  parcel  or  package  of  com- 
mercial fertilizer,  or  material  used  for  manurial  purposes  (excepting  the 
dung  of  domestic  animals),  that  is  sold  or  offered  for  sale  at  a  price 
exceeding  $8,  shall  be  accompanied  by  a  plainly  printed  label  bearing 
the  requisite  information.  This  information  is  first  of  all  filed  by  the 
manufacturer  or  dealer,  under  oath,  with  the  Director  of  the  Experiment 
Station  in  the  form  of  an  affidavit  setting  forth  the  composition  of  the 
various  brands  of  fertilizers  to  be  sold  by  him  in  the  State. 

When  this  affidavit  has  been  filed  and  is  accompanied  by  the  neces- 
sary license  fee,  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Regents  will  issue  to  such 
manufacturer  or  dealer  a  ''Certificate  of  Registration,"  bearing  a  certain 
number. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  no  person  is  permitted  to  offer  for  sale  any 
fertilizing  matter  the  value  of  which  exceeds  $8  per  ton  until  he  shall 
have  first  secured  this  "Certificate  of  Registration." 

The  law  further  requires  that  each  and  every  package  of  fertilizer 
offered  for  sale  shall  bear  the  word  "registered"  and  the  number  of 
registry  in  addition  to  the  information  as  to  its  composition. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  law  has  to  do  with  both  the  percentage  of 
phosphoric  acid,  nitrogen,  and  potash  in  the  fertilizer,  and  the  source  from 
which  the  several  materials  are  derived.     The  manufacturer  must  state 


—  2  — 

in  his  affidavit,  and  on  the  label  attached  to  his  fertilizer,  whether  the 
nitrogen  present  is  derived  from  nitrate  of  soda,  dried  blood,  fish  scrap, 
tankage,  bird  guano,  etc.;  and  similarly  with  reference  to  both  potash 
and  phosphoric  acid. 

No  special  form  of  label  is  specified  in  the  law,  and  each  manu- 
facturer is  at  liberty  to  use  what  form  he  may  desire,  whether  it  be  in 
the  form  of  a  printed  tag,  or  whether  it  be  printed  on  the  bags;  pro- 
vided only  that  it  conveys  the  information  embodied  in  the  following 
blank: 

Name  of  Fertilizer 

Manufactured  by Fertilizer  Co. 

Place  of  Manufacture 

(i)  The  manufacturers  guarantee  that  the  contents  of  the  package  to 
which  this  label  is  affixed  will  not  fall  below  the  following  per- 
centages: 


A  nalysis. 


Total  Phosphoric  Acid % 

Available  Phosphoric  Acid % 

Nitrogen % 

Potash % 

(2)  That  the  sources  of  the  several  ingredients  are: 

Nitrogen    

Phosphoric  Acid 

Potash 


It  will  be  seen  that  this  law  allows  any  manufacturer  to  compound 
his  goods  as  he  sees  fit  and  to  sell  what  he  pleases,  so  long  as  he  states 
what  he  is  going  to  sell,  and  sells  what  he  claims  on  his  label.  It 
leaves  it  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  purchaser  to  decide  whether  or  not 
the  materials  named  as  composing  the  fertilizer  suit  his  case,  but  makes 
it  incumbent  upon  the  dealer  or  manufacturer  to  state  clearly  the  nature 
of  his  goods,  so  that  the  purchaser  may  have  a  perfectly  clear  idea  of 
the  material  he  is  purchasing.  It  is  clear  that  the  manufacturer  must 
file  a  statement  of  each  brand  as  often  as  changes  are  made  in  the 
materials  used  in  its  manufacture.  In  his  application  for  registration 
the  manufacturer  may  include  as  many  brands  as  he  chooses  from  the 
same  mixture,  or  as  many  mixtures  as  he  chooses  under  the  same  name, 
but  in  each  case  the  label  must  truthfully  and  clearly  represent  the 
composition  of  the  material  in  the  package.  Manufacturers  can  not 
under  this  law  vary  at  will  the  materials  used  in  the  mixtures  without 
accounting  for  such  variation. 


—  3  — 

For  the  benefit  of  the  manufacturer  it  may  be  said  here  that  at  the 
end  of  the  year  it  only  becomes  necessary  to  renew  the  registration  by 
a  payment  of  the  license  fee,  and  thus  the  same  number  may  be  retained 
from  year  to  year  if  so  desired.  In  this  way  a  change  of  labels  may 
be  avoided. 

That  there  may  be  a  check  upon  the  statements  made  upon  the  labels 
accompanying  the  packages,  the  law  requires  the  Director  of  the  Experi- 
ment Station  to  take  samples  of  all  brands  of  fertilizers  sold  in  the 
State  and  to  cause  them  to  be  analyzed  at  least  once  each  year. 

It  also  provides  that  any  purchaser  of  commercial  fertilizer,  upon  the 
payment  to  the  University  of  a  nominal  fee  of  two  ($2)  dollars,  may 
submit  for  analysis  a  sample  of  the  same  in  accordance  with  such  rules 
as  the  Director  may  prescribe,  and  that  the  Director  shall  report  the 
result  of  such  analysis  to  the  person  submitting  the  sample. 

The  law  further  requires  that  the  results  of  the  analyses  shall  be 
published  for  general  distribution  at  least  once  each  year. 

The  special  tonnage  fee  applies  to  all  materials  sold  to  parties  other 
than  dealers,  irrespective  of  the  amount  sold  to  any  one  purchaser.  Affi- 
davits of  the  amount  sold  by  each  dealer  are  to  be  filed  each  quarter 
with  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  University,  and  are 
to  be  accompanied  by  the  corresponding  amount  of  money  at  the  rate 
of  twenty-five  cents  per  ton.  This  tonnage  fee  applies  to  all  " simples" 
as  well  as  mixed  materials,  including  nitrate  of  soda,  potash  salts,  plain 
superphosphate,  Thomas  slag,  tankage,  etc.,  excepting  only  such 
materials  as  sell  for  less  than  $8  per  ton. 

All  blanks  for  the  filing  of  reports  may  be  had  upon  application  to 
the  Director  of  the  Experiment  Station,  Berkeley,  Cal. 


CHAPTER  CCXXV. — An  act  to  regulate  the  sale  of  commercial  fertilizers  or  mate- 
rials used  for  manurial  purposes,  and  to  provide  penalties  for  the  infraction 
thereof,  and  means  for  the  enforcement  of  the  act. 

[Approved  March  20,  1903.] 

The  People  of  the  State  of  California,  represented  in  Senate  and  Assembly,  do  enact 

as  follows : 

Section  i.  Every  lot,  parcel,  or  package  of  commercial  fertilizers  or  materials 
to  be  used  for  manurial  purposes  (excepting  the  dung  of  domestic  animals),  sold, 
offered,  or  exposed  for  sale,  within  this  State,  shall  be  accompanied  by  a  plainly 
printed  label,  stating  the  name,  brand,  and  trade  mark,  if  any  there  be,  under 
which  the  fertilizer  is  sold,  the  name  and  address  of  the  manufacturer,  importer, 
or  dealer,  the  place  of  manufacture,  and  a  chemical  analysis,  stating  the  percent- 
ages claimed  to  be  therein  ;  of  nitrogen,  specifying  the  form  or  forms  in  which  it 
is  present ;  of  phosphoric  acid,  available  and  insoluble  ;  and  of  potash,  soluble 
in  distilled  water,  and  the  materials  from  which  all  of  said  constituents  are 
derived.     All  analyses  are  to  be  made  according  to  the  methods  agreed  upon  by 


—  4  — 

the  American  Association  of  Official  Agricultural  Chemists.  In  the  case  of  those 
fertilizers,  the  selling  price  of  which  is  less  than  eight  dollars  ($8)  per  ton,  said 
label  need  only  give  a  correct  general  statement  of  the  nature  and  composition  of 
the  fertilizer  it  accompanies. 

SEC.  2.  No  person  shall  sell,  offer,  or  expose  for  sale  in  this  State,  any  pulver- 
ized leather,  hair,  ground  hoofs,  horns,  or  wool  waste,  raw,  steamed,  roasted,  or  in 
any  form  as  a  fertilizer,  or  as  an  ingredient  of  a  fertilizer  or  manure,  without  an 
explicit  statement  of  the  fact ;  said  statement  to  be  conspicuously  affixed  to  every 
package  of  such  fertilizer  or  manure,  and  to  accompany  and  go  with  every  lot, 
parcel,  or  package  of  the  same. 

SEC.  3.  The  manufacturer,  importer,  agent  of,  or  dealer  in  any  commercial  fer- 
tilizers, or  materials  used  for  manurial  purposes,  the  selling  price  of  which  to  the 
consumer  is  eight  ($8)  dollars  or  more  per  ton,  shall,  before  the  same  is  offered 
for  sale,  obtain  a  certificate  of  registration  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of 
Regents  of  the  University  of  California,  countersigned  by  the  Director  of  the 
Agricultural  Experiment  Station  of  the  said  University,  authorizing  the  sale  of 
fertilizers  in  this  State,  and  shall  securely  fix  to  each  lot,  parcel,  or  package  of 
fertilizer  the  word  "registered"  with  the  number  of  registry.  The  manufacturer* 
importer,  agent,  or  dealer,  obtaining  such  registry,  shall  pay  to  the  said  Secretary 
the  sum  of  fifty  ($50)  dollars,  to  be  applied  as  provided  in  section  nine  of  this  act ; 
such  registration  shall  expire  on  the  thirtieth  day  of  June  of  the  fiscal  year  for 
which  it  was  given  ;  provided,  the  provisions  of  this  section  shall  not  apply  to  any 
agent  whose  principals  shall  have  obtained  a  certificate  of  registration  as  herein 
provided.  Every  such  manufacturer,  importer,  agent,  or  dealer,  who  makes  or 
sells,  or  offers  for  sale,  any  such  substances,  under  a  name  or  brand,  shall  file,  on  or 
before  the  first  day  of  July,  in  each  year,  a  statement,  under  oath,  with  said 
Director,  stating  such  name  or  brand,  and  stating  the  component  parts  in  accord- 
ance with  the  provisions  of  section  one  of  this  act,  of  the  substances  to  be  sold,  or 
offered  for  sale,  or  manufactured  under  each  such  name  or  brand. 

SEC.  4.  The  said  Director  shall  annually,  on  or  before  the  first  day  of  Septem- 
ber, take  samples  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  section  five  hereof  of  the 
substance  made,  sold,  or  offered  for  sale,  under  every  such  name  or  brand,  and 
cause  analyses  to  be  made  thereof  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  section 
one  hereof,  and  said  analyses  may  include  such  other  determinations  as  said 
Director  may  at  any  time  deem  advisable.  Dealers  in,  or  manufacturers  of  fertil- 
izers, must  give  free  access  to  the  Director  of  the  Agricultural  Experiment  Station, 
or  his  duly  authorized  deputy,  to  all  the  materials  which  they  may  place  on  the 
market  for  sale  in  California.  Whenever  the  analysis  certified  by  the  said  Director 
shall  show  a  deficiency  of  not  more  than  one  fourth  of  one  per  cent  of  nitrogen,  or 
one  per  cent  of  soluble  or  available  phosphoric  acid,  or  one  half  of  one  per  cent  of 
potash  soluble  in  distilled  water,  the  statement  of  the  manufacturer  or  importer, 
as  required  in  section  one  of  this  act,  shall  not  be  deemed  to  be  false  in  the 
meaning  of  this  act ;  provided,  that  this  act  shall  not  apply  to  sales  of  fertilizing 
materials  made  to  a  registered  manufacturer  of  fertilizers,  or  to  sales  for  export 
outside  of  this  State;  provided  further,  that  the  said  Director  of  the  Agricultural 
Experiment  Station  of  the  University  of  California  shall,  upon  the  receipt  of  a 
sample  of  fertilizer,  accompanied  with  a  nominal  fee  of  two  ($2)  dollars,  furnish  to 
the  user  of  said  commercial  fertilizer,  such  examination  or  analysis  of  the  sample 
as  will  substantially  establish  the  conformity  or  non-conformity  of  the  said  fertil- 
izer to  the  guarantee  under  which  it  was  sold. 

SEC.  5.  The  Director  of  the  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  of  the  University 
of  California,  in  person  or  by  deputy,  is  hereby  authorized  to  take  a  sample   not 


If 


exceeding  two  pounds  in  weight  for  analysis  by  the  said  Director,  or  his  deputies, 
from  an)'  lot,  parcel,  or  package  of  fertilizer,  or  material,  or  mixture  of  materials 
used  for  manurial  purposes,  which  may  be  in  the  possession  of  any  manufacturer, 
importer,  agent,  or  dealer,  but  said  sample  shall  be  drawn  in  the  presence  of  said 
party  or  parties  in  interest,  or  their  representatives.  In  lots  of  five  tons  or  less, 
samples  shall  be  drawn  from  at  least  ten  packages,  or,  if  less  than  ten  packages 
are  present,  all  shall  be  sampled ;  in  lots  of  over  five  tons,  not  less  than  twenty 
packages  shall  be  sampled.  The  samples  so  drawn  shall  be  thoroughly  mixed, 
and  from  it  two  equal  samples  shall  be  drawn  and  placed  in  glass  vessels,  carefully 
sealed,  and  a  label  placed  on  each,  stating  the  name  or  brand  of  the  fertilizer  or 
material  sampled,  the  name  of  the  party  from  whose  stock  the  sample  was  drawn, 
and  the  time  and  place  of  drawing ;  and  said  label  shall  also  be  signed  by  the  said 
Director  or  his  deputy  making  such  inspection,  and  by  the  party  or  parties  in 
interest,  or  their  representatives  present  at  the  drawing  and  sealing  of  said  sam- 
ples. One  of  said  duplicate  samples  shall  be  retained  by  the  party  whose  stock 
was  sampled,  and  the  other  by  the  Director  of  the  Agricultural  Experiment 
Station  of  the  University  of  California. 

Sec  6.  The  Director  of  the  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  of  the  University 
of  California  shall  publish  in  bulletin  form,  from  time  to  time,  at  least  annually, 
the  results  of  the  analysis  hereinbefore  provided,  with  such  additional  informa- 
tion as  circumstances  may  advise. 

SEC.  7.  There  is  hereby  appropriated  for  the  use  of  the  Agricultural  Experi- 
ment Station  of  the  University  of  California  at  Berkeley,  Alameda  County,  as  set 
forth  in  this  act,  out  of  any  moneys  in  the  treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated, 
the  sum  of  eighteen  hundred  ($1,800)  dollars  for  the  equipment  of  a  laboratory, 
with  the  chemicals  and  apparatus,  and  other  incidentals  necessary  to  the  success- 
ful prosecution  of  the  work. 

SEC.  8.  In  order  to  further  provide  for  the  necessary  expenses  of  this  work, 
there  shall  be  paid  by  the  manufacturer,  importer,  agent,  or  dealer,  twenty-five 
cents  for  every  ton  of  fertilizer  sold,  the  selling  price  of  which  to  the  consumer  is 
eight  ($8)  dollars  or  more  per  ton.  A  statement  sworn  to  by  the  manufacturer, 
importer,  agent,  or  dealer,  of  such  sales,  shall  be  rendered  quarterly  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  University  of  California,  accompanied  by  the 
corresponding  amount  of  the  special  license  fee  as  above  specified  ;  provided, 
that  whenever  the  manufacturer  or  importer  shall  have  paid  the  special  license 
fee  herein  required,  for  any  person  acting  as  agent  or  seller  for  such  manufacturer 
or  importer,  such  agent  or  seller  shall  not  be  required  to  pay  the  special  license 
fee  named  in  this  section.  On  receipt  of  said  special  license  fee  and  statement, 
the  said  Secretary  shall  issue  to  the  manufacturer,  importer,  agent,  or  dealer,  a 
certificate  of  compliance  with  this  section. 

Sec.  9.  All  moneys,  whether  received  from  registry  and  analytical  fees  or 
special  license  fees,  shall  be  paid  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the 
University  of  California,  for  the  use  of  said  board  in  carrying  out  the  provisions 
of  this  act. 

Sec.  10.  Any  party  selling,  offering,  or  exposing  for  sale,  any  commercial 
fertilizer  without  the  statement  required  by  section  one  of  this  act,  or  with  a  label 
stating  that  said  fertilizer  contains  a  larger  percentage  of  any  one  or  more  of  the 
constituents  mentioned  in  said  section  than  is  actually  contained  therein,  except 
as  provided  for  in  section  four,  or  respecting  the  sale  of  which  all  the  provisions 
of  this  act  have  not  been  fully  complied  with,  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misde- 
meanor, and  upon  conviction  thereof  before  any  court  of  competent  jurisdiction, 
shall  be  fined  in  a  sum  not  less  than  fifty  ($50)  dollars  and  costs  of  action  for  the 


first  offense,  and  one  hundred  ($100)  dollars  and  costs  of  the  action  for  each  sub- 
sequent offense.  Said  fines  to  be  paid  into  the  school  fund  of  the  county  in  which 
conviction  is  had. 

SEC.  ii.  In  any  action,  civil  or  criminal,  in  any  court  in  this  State,  a  certifi- 
cate under  the  hand  of  said  Director,  and  the  seal  of  said  University,  stating  the 
results  of  any  analysis,  purporting  to  have  been  made  under  the  provisions  of 
this  act,  shall  be  prima  facie  evidence  of  the  fact  that  the  sample  or  samples 
mentioned  in  said  analysis  or  certificate  were  properly  analyzed  as  in  this  act  pro- 
vided ;  that  such  samples  were  taken  as  in  this  act  provided  ;  that  the  substances 
analyzed  contained  the  component  parts  stated  in  such  certificate  and  analysis ; 
and  that  the  samples  were  taken  from  the  parcels  or  packages  or  lots  mentioned 
or  described  in  said  certificate. 

Sec.  12.  This  act  shall  take  effect  and  be  in  force  from  and  after  July  first, 
nineteen  hundred  and  three. 


9-1 


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